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Big Oil Companies Report Strong Gains in Earnings

Buoyed by higher prices for crude oil and strong demand for natural gas and gasoline, most of the nation's major oil companies reported higher earnings yesterday for the first quarter, generally exceeding analysts' forecasts.

The only downturn came in petrochemicals, but even in that business, the earnings were down from unusually high earnings in the first quarter of last year.

In other operations, too, the profits in the first quarter of this year, which were aided by an unusually cold winter, were generally being compared with those of a strong 1995 quarter, giving the industry one of its best performances since the surge in crude-oil prices during the Persian Gulf crisis of the early 1990's.

John D. Hervey, an oil industry analyst for Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette, said that the companies had also benefited from their cost-cutting of the last four years.

"They have planned to live in a lower-oil-price environment," he said. As a result, when the prices of West Texas intermediate crude rose in the second quarter to an average of $19.75, or $1.38 more than in the first quarter of last year, the industry reaped the rewards in its exploration and production operations.

Prices were driven up as companies kept a tight rein on inventories in the expectation that prices would fall if Iraqi oil came back onto the world market after a six-year absence because of United Nations sanctions. With that still a possibility, many oil companies' shares fell or held even yesterday as analysts predicted that oil prices might have reached a peak.

The Exxon Corporation reported a 14 percent increase in net income, to $1.89 billion, or $1.51 a share, from $1.66 billion, or $1.33 a share, a year earlier. On an operating basis, before special items, Exxon earned $1.41 a share, 7 cents above analysts' estimates provided by Zacks Investment Research. Revenue rose nearly 5 percent, to $31.2 billion, from $29.8 billion a year earlier.

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Exxon shares closed unchanged at $82 after having slipped as low as $81.50 earlier in the day.

The Mobil Corporation reported a 16 percent increase in earnings, to $736 million, or $1.83 a share, from $636 million, or $1.57 a share, a year earlier. The earnings exceeded analysts' forecasts, provided by Zacks, by 5 cents a share. Revenue totaled $18.7 billion, up slightly from $17.6 billion in the first quarter last year. Even so, Mobil's shares closed down 75 cents at $112.75.

The Amoco Corporation reported that its earnings surged 39 percent, to $728 million, or $1.47 a share, from $523 million, or $1.05 a share, in the first quarter of last year, as revenue rose 8.6 percent, to $8.21 billion, from $7.56 billion a year earlier. Amoco's stock closed unchanged at $72.125.

Texaco Inc. reported a 30 percent increase in earnings, to $386 million, or $1.42 a share, from $297 million, or $1.08 a share, a year earlier, on a rise in revenue to $10.3 billion from $9.1 billion. Though the Texaco earnings topped the average estimate of $1.34 a share from 16 analysts surveyed by IBES International, the company's shares closed down 25 cents at $83.875.

The Chevron Corporation's income climbed 34 percent, to $616 million, or 94 cents a share, from $459 million, or 70 cents a share, a year earlier, while revenue increased to $10.16 billion from $8.82 billion. Though the earnings beat the average forecast of 82 cents a share from 21 analysts surveyed by IBES, Chevron's shares closed unchanged at $55.75. Earlier, they fell as low as $55.

ARCO reported a 14.9 percent climb in earnings, to $370 million, or $2.26 a share, from $322 million, or $1.97, a share, a year earlier, as sales rose to $4.76 billion from $4.24 billion. The profit exceeded the average estimate of $2.10 a share predicted by 18 analysts surveyed by Zacks, but the company's shares closed down 25 cents at $115.625.

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A version of this article appears in print on April 23, 1996, on Page D00002 of the National edition with the headline: Big Oil Companies Report Strong Gains in Earnings. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe